Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Chipotle Mexican Grill Chides Parents Risks Kids Privacy

Bold marketing moves
can garner positive results, however risking Children’s Online Privacy is not a
bold marketing move it is a risky one according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru®
at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

So when Chipotle announced that it is the first major restaurant brand to market itself
on TikTok that is exactly what they have
done according to Johnson. TikTok
recently agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after
allegations that the app knowingly and illegally stored the names, email
addresses, and locations of users under the age of 13. The fine was $5.7
million fine for collecting personal information about its pre-teen users.

While today Chipotle
is popular with Gen Z—and the chain is reaping high user engagement numbers
from its efforts with TikTok while many parents are unaware of the FTC violation of the Children’s
Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).The FTC continues to want more information on TikTok privacy usage.

TikTok, which started in China in 2017
and became the most downloaded app in the U.S. about a year ago, allows users
to create and share short videos. It’s especially popular with those born
between 1997 and 2012. Chipotle’s official presence on TikTok began after the
chain noticed “organic” content about the brand frequently appearing on the
app, said Tressie Lieberman, Chipotle’s vice president of digital marketing and
off-premise.

The Newport Beach, Calif.-based chain
first posted on the app last summer, when a Maryland Chipotle employee had a
customer film a video of him flipping a lid from one of the fast-casual chain’s
bowls. The video, which was originally posted to Instagram, has received more
than 1 million views.

“We instantly knew from the reaction that
this was the right content to start our first partnership with TikTok, inviting
our customers to try the lid flip trick for themselves with a branded hashtag
challenge,” Lieberman said.

So, is risking children’s customer
privacy with Lieberman and Chipotle?It would
appear so.Do you think that Chipotle should
warn parents or the underage users of the risks of using TikTok? Is your brand
prepared for the down side if TikTok were to continue gathering your kid’s app usage,
interest, and online information for other purposes? Is this how you want to
market to Kids?